Hi! This is Jessica Spellman. We’re going to be reviewing the safe use of medical equipment. After taking this course, you will be able to define medical equipment and be able to give examples. Understand what constitutes a medical device and adverse reaction event. Explain barriers nurses encounter when it comes to using medical devices correctly. And review several professional nursing organization statements regarding the use of medical equipment. You’ll also be able to incorporate suggestions in the clinical practice for their prevention of adverse events related to medical device adverse events. Medical equipment is defined as a piece of equipment used to prevent, diagnose, or treat a medical condition, disease, or injury. It cannot contain a medication, a biologic agent or food. And in the U.S., medical equipment must meet the regulations set forth by the Food and Drug Administration. Let’s go over a few examples. We have some simple medical devices; tongue depressors, gloves, thermometers, syringes, gauze, bandaids, and durable medical equipment such as walkers, hearing aids, diabetic blood glucose monitoring supplies. We also have very complex medical devices, such as life supporting devices, ventilators, heart and lung and dialysis machines. Monitoring equipment such as ECGs, EEGs, and pulse oximetry. And diagnostic equipment such as X-rays, CT scans and MRI machines, as well as infusion pumps to administer medications. So I mentioned the FDA is responsible for maintaining the safety of devices. So, let’s review how they do that. They require that medical equipment be safe, effective, and follow the guidelines set forth by the FDA. They also register manufacturer devices and assure that the equipment is labelled according to regulations before being available for purchase. They also perform surveillance on equipment on the market to ensure the product functions as expected. And when it doesn’t, they review...